Share This Story!

Holmdel school board member violated ethics code

Holmdel school board member Barbara Garrity was accused of an ethics violation when she asked if her son, a graduate student in management, sit in on teacher negotiations and come up with alternative proposals for an internship. An administrative law judge ruled she violated 2 of 3 ethics rules, however its up to a state school ethics commission to decide disciplinary measures if any. Garrity, a board member for 10 years, said she was surprised because the request never went beyond a discussion and she dropped it.

Holmdel school board member violated ethics code

A judge ruled Holmdel school board member Barbara Garrity violated two sections of the state ethics code for board members, which bar them from using their position to secure advantages or privileges for immediate family and for surrendering her “independent judgment...to use the schools for gain or the gain of friends.”
(Photo:
Press file photo
)Buy Photo

Story Highlights

Judge rules Holmdel school board member violated ethics code, a state ethics panel will have the final say.

HOLMDEL – An administrative law judge has ruled a township school board member violated the state ethics code when she suggested the Board of Education use her son, a graduate student, to evaluate teacher contract negotiations to help him complete a class assignment.

Judge Jeff S. Masin ruled June 30 that school board member Barbara Garrity violated two sections of the state ethics code for board members, which bar them from using their position to secure advantages or privileges for immediate family and for surrendering her "independent judgment ... to use the schools for gain or the gain of friends."

That decision now goes to the state School Ethics Commission, which has 45 days to accept, modify or reject the judge's determination. The commission also can impose any disciplinary action, which could range from being publicly censured to a suspension. Garrity said she plans to file an exception or appeal to the judges ruling.

The ethics complaint arose after a February 2013 discussion in which Garrity asked school district personnel about allowing her son Nicholas Kovalevich, a graduate student in management at Northwestern University, to monitor teacher contract negotiations to meet a college project requirement. Her son had an assignment to monitor aspects of a labor negotiation and to weight different proposals, court papers stated.

Garrity emailed the idea to board member Robin Wetmore, the negotiations committee chairwoman at the time, Superintendent Barbara Duncan and Board Attorney Michael Gross, asking them for a "reality check" on whether the idea was "stupid." The negotiations committee and school board discussed it during two closed meetings in February. Paying Kovalevich wasn't discussed, and Wetmore decided not to move the issue forward, court papers stated.

In his decision, Masin said: "Benign as the matter might be, it smacks of undue influence."

Kovalevich should have approached the district himself instead of gaining "special entree" through his mother, Masin said.

"My feeling is nothing actually occurred. An offer was made to provide a free service to the board," said Garrity, who has served on the board for 10 years. "It never went past the inquiry stage. I was puzzled (by the allegation)."

Garrity's term expires this year; she did not run for re-election, which she said was a decision she made before the ethics complaint.